Advice from Charlotte Rose (Sheffield English Literature graduate, now Political Reporter for the BBC, based in Westminster)
Hi all, thanks so much for your interest in a career in journalism! Here are some of the routes to consider and how to find an accredited course. I’ve tried to give a fair and balanced assessment of some of the advantages and disadvantages of the different routes, but I have to be honest that I have taken one particular route, so it’s harder for me to say what other routes might be like in terms of how quickly you will get a job etc etc.
Academic courses:
- The main types of courses are: MA or Diploma. MA’s are generally done over the course of a year whereas diplomas can be more flexible and you can do intensive short courses or part time courses to fit in with work/family.
- The most important thing is that your course is accredited by either the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) or Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)
- NJCT website has lots of info on different types of qualification – if you go on the course selector make sure you either choose post-graduate – or that the course you’re looking for is designed for post grads like the short courses below.
- If you’re specifically looking for short courses, the ones run by industry – i.e. PA and News Associates are generally considered to be better than the others:
- If you’re specifically looking for part time courses – again PA and News Associates are the main ones:
- BJTC website has a list of courses accredited by them broken down by region:
Traineeships/apprenticeships:
Overview: Here’s a website with an overview of what different companies offer: https://www.studentapprenticeships.co.uk/job-category/journalism-broadcasting/
BBC: Here’s a helpful page of a range of different schemes to look into – some are for school leavers, some for graduates, and they cover different types of work: https://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/trainee-schemes-and-apprenticeships
ITN: https://www.itvjobs.com/blog/itv-news-traineeship-what-is-it-really-like (THE DEADLINE FOR 2023 APPLICATIONS IS 19TH FEBRUARY!!)
Sky: Sky have something called the Content Academy: https://careers.sky.com/earlycareers/content-academy/
PA: These are more diploma courses than traineeships- but definitely worth looking at because PA is highly respected in the industry: https://becomeajournalist.co.uk/
Reuters: Reuters run a yearly grad scheme, with placements in London, New York and Singapore. Deadline is in September. https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/careers/campus-careers.html#journalism
Global: They offer apprenticeships in their Manchester and Birmingham newsrooms where you get an NJTC accredited diploma: https://global.com/global-news/global-launches-broadcast-journalism-apprenticeship-scheme-early-career-opportunities-newsroom/
- The advantage to this route is that you are going directly into an organisation, and can build contacts as well as learning skills that will hopefully help you to get a job afterwards. As an apprentice you get a small wage and you will not be paying for your training.
- The disadvantage is just that these schemes are *HUGELY* competitive. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth going for – but bear in mind you might need a back-up option.
Other routes:
- There are other routes to get into journalism indirectly. Some people go and work for an MP or a campaign group, and then use the connections they’ve made and the subject knowledge they’ve acquired to get into journalism or the media.
- That’s quite specific to politics- but you could do the same if you are interested in say sports journalism or environmental journalism etc.
- The advantage of this route is that you will be getting paid, rather than having to pay for a course, and possibly that your employer might pay for you to do some of your training.
- The disadvantage is that unless the organisation is willing to pay for your training, you may lack the specific skills you need to progress in journalism.
Charlotte’s Top Tips:
- Get work experience while you’re still studying – write for the Uni newspaper, or Sheffield Star or Yorkshire post (or Newcastle equivalent!), or a magazine; see if you can get experience with a news agency like PA/Reuters or with a radio/tv station.
- Email people! It costs you nothing to write an email. Find the details of editors on their website or the inside page of the paper – or look people up on Linked In. You could even call a company and find out who the best person is to email about work experience.
- Be persistent! Newsrooms are busy places – sometimes editors will have the best intention of getting back to you but then there is a breaking story etc etc. So if you have emailed someone and don’t hear back within a fortnight – email again! If you’ve called and spoken to someone who said they’d call you back but they didn’t – call them again!
- Don’t let people take the p**s! A week’s work experience where you go into an organisation and see how it works, make some connections and get some practical hands on experience is worthwhile – just being asked by big national outlets to write articles, or edit audio or tv repeatedly for no money is less valuable. Of course it’s good to get your name in print – but as well as you not getting paid for stuff you should be paid for, you’re also taking work away from full time freelancers who have to be paid because it’s their livelihood.
GOOD LUCK!!!
